Wolf Pack athletic teams add recruits on early signing period

Henry MacDiarmid/Nevada Sagebrush Nevada head coach Eric Musselman stands on the sideline and watches the Wolf Pack take on Alaska-Fairbanks on Friday, Nov. 6 at Mackay Stadium. Musselman inked the No. 35 recruiting class in the nation last Wednesday according to Rivals.com.

By Neil Patrick Healy

In college sports, recruiting is what determines the fate of a program years before games are played. On Wednesday, Nov. 11, multiple Nevada teams signed their recruiting classes to bolster their rosters and set the course of the future here in the early signing period.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

In head coach Eric Musselman’s first season he has already made big headlines on the recruiting trail. His debut class was ranked at No. 35 in the nation and second in the Mountain West (behind UNLV), according to Rivals.com. Four players signed their letter of intent last week: point guard Devearl Ramsey, small forward Josh Hall, power forward Kenneth Wooten and small forward Sam Williams. Hall and Ramsey are rated as four-star recruits and help bolster the 2016 class to be the highest-rated class since 2008, which included future first round pick Luke Babbit. Williams, a Reno native and former Hug High star, played junior college ball at Mt. San Jacinto College in California and will be allowed to join the team in December, while the other three will join before the 2016- 2017 season.

VOLLEYBALL

First-year head coach Lee Nelson signed four players last Wednesday. The class includes 6-foot-2 middle blocker Shayla Hoeft, 5-foot-8 setter Dalyn Burns, 5-foot-8 libero Camille Davey and 6-foot outside hitter Ayla Fresenius. Fresenius and Davey are teammates from Laguna Beach, Hoeft is from Hawaii and Burns is from San Jose. Fresenius and Davey are teammates from Laguna Beach, Hoeft is from Hawaii and Burns is from San Jose.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The women’s basketball program added its own top-tier recruit in 5-foot-11 guard Desirae Gonzalez. She averaged 29.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game last year and was Arizona’s leading scorer her junior year. Head coach Jane Albright said that she intends to add a transfer and wants to add a post player before the final signing period date.

TRACK AND FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY

Eight recruits committed to Nevada for the early signing period, which included a number of international students. The class includes distance runners Adria Barich, Delaney White and Hiley Dobbs, javelin throwers Zo Fitch and Raffaeka Wiesbech, thrower Emma Hickman, sprinter Tegan Wilson and hurdler Franziska Kindt. Wiesbech and Kindt are from Germany, Wilson is from Canada and Fitch is from England. Wiesbech was with Nevada when she won the silver medal in the 2014 Mountain West outdoor championships and is now returning to the program.

The final signing period date is Nov. 18, but the various Nevada programs look to have added both numbers and talent to their new recruiting classes.

Neil Patrick Healy can be reached at neil@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @NeilTheJuiceMan.